Cayzle's Wemic Site
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The following is my review of and commentary on the First Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons rules pertaining to Wemics. I have excerpted from those rules below as part of my commentary. Any text on this page that looks like this is such an excerpt. The text that is blue is my commentary.
Review of Wemic Rules
from 1E Monster Cards Set 3In 1982, TSR published several sets of "Monster Cards." Each card had a color illustration of the monster on the front and statistics and description on the back. These served as a reference for the Dungeon Master, who wouldn't have to flip pages back and forth in the 1E Monster Manual. And the DM could hold up a card to show players what the monster looked like without giving away the name or other details.
Well, in order to give the product added value, a few new monsters were included in each set, published for the first time exclusively in card form. Wemics were one of these new monsters. I believe that this card product is the first published reference to wemics in Dungeons and Dragons. Here is a scan of that first card, excerpted for review purposes from TSR's Monster Cards Set 3:
In large measure, this first wemic set the pattern for all versions that were to follow. From the beginning, wemics were described as prides of hunters roaming temperate grasslands and savannas, and that they are known as excellent trackers and guides. We see them using javelins, clubs, swords, and tough leather shields, attacking with both weapons and claws. There is mention of both clans and nations of wemics. The underlying assumption is that they are primitives, since it is necessary to note that they know how to use fire. And there is a mention of wemic witch doctors.
And the essence of "wemic" is clear from the start: wemics are large lion centaurs -- and in the illustration, the human half is much more human than lion. Just as centaurs do not have equine facial features, so the first wemics had no leonine features.
This very first wemic was created by David C. Sutherland III, and the card art reproduced above was drawn by Jim Roslof.
Copyright and Trademark Information
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D, Dungeons & Dragons, and D&D are trademarks of TSR Inc.
TSR Inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast Inc.
Excerpts from the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® Monster Cards Set 3 are © Wizards of the Coast Inc. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from these works are here used for fair-use non-profit review and commentary purposes.
Review and commentary on this page are © 2001 by Cayzle.